Energy supplier faces battle with unions over plans to make 13pc of its UK
workforce redundant.

Energy giant RWE npower has confirmed it is to cut 1,460 jobs - 13pc of its UK workforce - as part of a major restructuring that will see back office operations outsourced to India.

A further 540 npower staff, working in its call centres, will be transferred to work for outsourcing company Capita, in a move npower claimed would improve customer service and reduce costs.

But trades union Unison vowed to fight the “disastrous” redundancy proposals, which they described as “a bitter blow to staff and customers”.

The move forms part of a cost-cutting drive by npower’s struggling German parent company RWE, which earlier this month issued a profit warning and announced it would slash 6,750 jobs across its European operations.

npower plans to close its offices in Stoke on Trent, with the loss of 550 jobs, and one of three Oldbury offices, with around 400 redundancies. There will also be 430 redundancies at its Rainton Bridge site in Sunderland and 80 jobs lost in Leeds. Staff at some other sites will be asked to relocate.

npower, which is routinely ranked last or poorly in customer satisfaction surveys, said that the proposals would mean “customers would continue to be served on the phone by people based in UK call centres and back office functions would be outsourced to India”.

Tata Consultancy Services will take on this work, such as checking meter readings against customers’ bills.

npower said the outsourcing companies would have “extra capacity to handle calls at peak times, meaning call waiting times are kept to a minimum” and this would “save on current customer service costs, at a time of external pressures on energy prices”.

Paul Massara, npower chief, said he understood the plan would be “incredibly hard” for its employees but was “necessary if we are to deliver the levels of service our customers deserve”.

Matt Lay, Unison national officer, said: “There is no consideration of what this will do to the UK or to the local economy in the worst hit areas. The West Midlands and North West have the highest rates of unemployment in the country and losing another 1460 jobs will do more damage to struggling local businesses and services.”

“These so-called savings will backfire on the company who have consistently let their customers and staff down by not investing enough in the workforce, technology or in the latest customer service techniques.”